


Spell My Name

by embro



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [9]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fill, harry is the barista, louis is the customer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-07 00:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4242882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embro/pseuds/embro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: I’m a barista and you’re the obnoxious customer who comes through and orders a venti macchiato while talking on the phone the whole time so I misspell your name in increasingly creative ways every day</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spell My Name

**Author's Note:**

> I remade on [Tumblr ](http://harryventura.tumblr.com)

Harry didn’t even have to look up from his fingernails to know who was standing at the counter in front of him, the guy was  _that loud_ on his phone.

“Just tell her to fuck off then!” the guy cried into the receiver. “She’s shit at her job anyway. Only types thirty words a minute.”

Harry rolled his eyes before meeting the arsehole’s, raising an eyebrow as a silent request for his order. He very much knew what it was, the guy ordered the same bloody thing every morning on his way to work, but Harry wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of feeling memorable.

He tilted the receiver of his phone away from his mouth and said “Venti macchiato. Triple shot.”

“Three pound sixty.” Harry grunted, and after taking the coins from the guy asked “Name?”

He sighed and said “Louis” before starting up his ranting to the one on the phone again.

Harry picked up the cup and pursed his lips, deep in thought for a new way to spell his name. He’d already done Lewis, Lewee, Louee and Loowis, so the next logical step would be to write Looee.

He knew it was childish of him, purposefully spelling a name wrong, but he didn’t particularly care; it was too good, watching the way Louis’ mouth scrunched up in distaste every time he picked up his cup from the other end of the counter.

Harry handed the cup to Niall, the guy manning the coffee machine this shift, and went to serve the next person. He caught the way Niall grinned at the cup, and after he was done with the customer Niall said to him “Isn’t it about time you give him a break? He’s not an idiot, he knows what you’re doing.”

“It’s too fun.” Harry shrugged, then let himself take a peek at Louis. He’d thought him pretty fit once, even liked the way his voice sounded as he spoke into the phone, but it was what he was saying that turned Harry right off. He was being a right prick to the one on the other end, calling them  _incapable_ and  _stupid_ and Harry had heard those words enough from obnoxious customers to know Louis wasn’t his kind of person.

Niall just shook his head as he finished up Louis’ order, then called his name before propping the coffee on the counter.

Louis was quick to grab it, turning the cup in his hand to look at Harry’s scrawled writing. His lips scrunched up into a tight little line, brow furrowing before he looked up at Harry and glared.

And before Harry could even look away, Louis was storming over to him, shoving the cup right in his face.

“Is this  _honestly_ how you think my name is spelt? Are you  _really_ that stupid?” he snarled, tiny teeth clenched tight.

Harry tilted his head, feigning ignorance as he replied with “Is that not it?”

“Loo-ee? Really? Do you really think that is what someone would write on a birth certificate for their first child? That they would do that to their child, knowing full well how they’d be teased for it in school? You can’t bloody put the word  _loo_ in your kid’s name without asking for them to be bloody beaten by junior schoolers. Are you honestly that daft?”

“I’m not daft!”

“Then listen up, pal. L-o-u-i-s. That is how you spell my name. Everyone else at this bloody place knows it, do you think you can manage it?”

Harry gritted his teeth but nodded shortly, wanting nothing more then to punch the guy but knowing full well he wasn’t worth getting fired over. “I’ll try.”

“Good.” Then a sickly sweet smile fell over Louis’ face. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.”

“Can’t wait.” Harry grunted, eyes fixed to Louis’, who still wasn’t leaving.

He was just staring, even while he picked up his drink for a sip, eyes wandering over Harry’s face and down to his neck and chest.

He could feel himself going red, so cleared his throat and said “Good bye.”

Which had Louis’ eyes snapping back up to his, before he smirked and said “Have a nice day.”

It wasn’t until Louis was out of the coffee shop that Harry looked to Niall, who was grinning like a madman. “What was that?”

“He was checking you out, you knob!” Niall cackled. “What else could it have been?”

“Oh.” Was all Harry could manage in response, cheeks darkening.

“You’re both as ridiculous as each other. Ya need to both shift each other and get it done with.”

Harry nudged Niall with his hip and grumbled “Fuck off”. Like he hadn’t already considered the idea himself, that what he really needed to do was snog Louis senseless to break some of that built-up tension between them. 

The next morning Louis came in, yelling like usual on the phone, so red in the face that Harry didn’t even bother pretending he didn’t remember him. When Louis got to the counter Harry simply typed in his order into the register and held out a hand for the money. Louis dropped the coins into his hand, waving for Harry to put the change into the tip jar before heading off to the counter.

But despite Louis obviously being very pissed off, Harry couldn’t  _totally_ give in.

He picked up the cup and wrote LOUI then the number 5 and passed it to Niall wordlessly.

Who raised an eyebrow after looking at it, but didn’t say anything; just carried on with his orders.

“For fuck’s sake Liam!” Louis suddenly screeched, then hung up the phone with a growl. His eyes were shining bright, looked watery, and Harry regretted what he’d written immediately.

“Niall, hang on –“ Harry got out, but his co-worker was already plonking the cup down on the counter.

Louis was quick to pick it up, glancing down at it and grimacing. He didn’t look mad, just – upset.

“Sorry, I –“ Harry said as Louis headed towards the exit.

“You’re such a twat.” Louis spat when he passed.

Harry felt shitty about it all day, and he didn’t even know why.

Louis was a knob. An obnoxious, loud, rude knob. But he was fit, too, and Harry didn’t want to admit it but he’d formed a bit of a crush on the guy. It was fun, pissing him off.

Harry liked his angry face, but on this one occasion he didn’t like being at the receiving end of it.

He’d thought about it all the way home, all the way through working on his Uni assignments, and still had it on his mind when Zayn, another of his coworkers, called him in the evening.

“Hey, mate, you think you could fill in for me tonight? Got this thing I wanna take my missus to.”

“Yeah, I guess. What’s the shift?”

“Four til nine.”

“Christ, you can’t do any of it? I already did seven hours this morning.”

“No can do. I could ask Nialler but he covered for me last time.”

Harry groaned, but agreed nonetheless. “Yeah, I’ll take it. You owe me though.”

“’course, mate, you’re a legend.”

Harry only had enough time to jump through the shower, ridding the smell of that morning’s coffee. He had a clean black shirt in his drawer but had to wear the same jeans, and tied up his hair into a loose bun at the back of his head. He’d had to work an evening shift once before, and it was far more laid back then the morning ones. The customers were mostly kids meeting up with friends after school and a few business-types on the way back from work, nothing Harry couldn’t easily manage.

When he arrived, it was exactly as he’d pictured it. Half-empty, tables all clean, none of that bustle he’d come to associate the place with.

He nodded to his co-worker and wrapped an apron around his waist, then agreed to manning the register while the other made the coffees.

Not three hours into his shift, he spotted a regular face coming through the door.

It was Louis, dressed in loose grey shorts, trainers and a worn-out tee, gym bag in hand. His hair was all mussed up, bits sticking to his forehead, and his face was pink with a light sheen to it.

He looked incredible, so good Harry’s mouth was hanging wide open.

He didn’t realise it until Louis was before him, grinning wide as he said “You trying to catch flies?”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you smile.” Harry got out breathily, and Louis’ grin dropped right off. “Don’t!”

“Don’t what?”

“Umm.” Harry blushed, inwardly cursing himself for being such a tit. “Don’t stop. Smiling. It – you have a nice one.”

“Oh.” It was Louis’ turn to blush, but a little pleased smile was creeping onto his lips. “Thanks.”

Harry cleared his throat. “I don’t know your evening order.”

“Of course. Just a hot chocolate. Please.”

“Venti?”

“Nah, just Tall.”

“Two pound twenty.”

Louis nodded, sticking a hand into his pocket and counting out the change in his palm. He had nice hands, too, small and delicate looking, smooth skin and long fingers.

He held out the coins for Harry to take, then stayed at the counter to watch Harry write on the cup.

Harry felt his cheeks redden at the way he was being stared at, could feel Louis’ eyes running all over him as he wrote out the words and passed it to his co-worker.

“I’m not a morning person.” Louis suddenly spilled out, demanding Harry’s attention again. “It’s why I’m always so horrible to you. I don’t mean to be. I just – always have shit on my mind when the day starts. I don’t handle stress well.”

“That’s okay.”

“It’s not really.” Louis smiled down at his hands. “I’d find the whole thing funny if it was any other time of the day. The wrong-name thing. Once the morning rush is finished and I’ve calmed down, I always have a bit of a laugh about it. I keep the cup on my desk all day ‘cause eventually it’ll make me smile.”

“Yeah?” Harry couldn’t help but grin wide. “You keep the cups?”

Louis rolled his eyes and muttered “I said that, didn’t I?” but he was smiling, lacking the usual bitterness Harry had come to associate him with.

“Louis!” the barista suddenly called, and Louis grimaced before rushing off to grab his drink.

He stopped in front of Harry on his way back out, shuffling from foot to foot, opening his mouth and closing it again.

Harry couldn’t blame him, he didn’t quite know what to say either.

“I’ll see you in the morning then.” Louis finally said, and Harry nodded.

“Yeah, see you.” And Louis started walking off, but just as his hand wrapped around the door handle Harry blurted out “Wait!”

“Yes?” Louis spun around quickly, face bright and hopeful.

“Did – do you want me to keep spelling your name funny or not?”

Louis pursed his lips in thought, corners quirked up as if he was trying not to smile. “Well, I suppose I am interested to see how many more ways you can fuck up the spelling of my name before you have to do it right.”

Harry grinned. “Tonight’s doesn’t count then.”

Louis looked down at his cup, pouting when he noticed his name written correctly. “Okay, it doesn’t count.”

“Bye then.” Harry said with a little wave, and Louis grinned.

“Bye.”

Harry couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of his shift, unable to come down from Cloud Nine, toying with the idea that maybe tomorrow, written just below Louis’ misspelt name and his coffee order, he’d put his phone number.


End file.
